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Click and Grow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click and Grow
IndustryIndoor gardening
Founded2009
FounderMattias Lepp
ProductsSmart Flowerpot, Smart Garden, Wall Farm
Websiteeu.clickandgrow.com

Click and Grow is an Estonian indoor gardening company, founded by Mattias Lepp in 2009.[where?] It develops consumer electronic products for growing edible plants indoors.

History

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Click and Grow was founded by Mattias Lepp, in Estonia, in 2009. In 2010, he won a local Ajujaht business idea competition with his idea for a 'Smart Flowerpot'.[1] The idea took two years to develop before it was sold as a product.[2][3][4]

As of 2018, Click and Grow employed 42 people, with offices in San Francisco, Tartu and Tallinn, and had more than 450,000 customers.[5] In the same year the company received investment from INGKA Holding.[6]

Between March and May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Click and Grow saw sales that were three to five times higher than normal. It was claimed that this was due to fresh food shortages and fear of them continuing,[7] an effort to improve mental health,[8] and in order to reduce food shopping frequency.[9][10][11]

Products

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Click and Grow's products are self-irrigating and the system uses 'plant pods' that contain plant seeds, a growing medium and a controlled-release fertiliser.[12][2]

Smart Flowerpot

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The Smart Flowerpot was introduced in 2011, as a battery powered, indoor plant pot that did not require manual watering or fertilizing.[13] By 2012 Click & Grow had sold 90,000 Smart Flowerpots. However, customers in Nordic countries found that they had insufficient natural sunlight to grow many varieties of plant.[4][14]

Smart Herb Garden and Smart Garden 3

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Click and Grow Smart Garden

In 2013, Click and Grow used Kickstarter to raise $625,000 for a Smart Herb Garden, which included an LED grow light, and could grow three plants at once.[15] It began selling the Smart Herb Garden in January 2014.[4][16] In 2017, a second generation of the garden was released called Smart Garden 3.

Smart Garden 9 and 27

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In 2016, Click and Grow launched a bigger version of the Smart Herb garden through another Kickstarter campaign - the Smart Garden 9, capable of growing nine plants at a time.[12] The nine-plant unit is stacked using a three-tiered stand, to become a Smart Garden 27.[10][17][5]

Smart Farm

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In 2015, Click and Grow introduced a larger indoor plant growing product which can grow up to 250 plants.[18]

Wall Farm

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In 2016, Click and Grow launched the Wall Farm, which can grow up to 51 plants at a time.[5][3][19]

References

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  1. ^ "Click & Grow – the most successful alumni of Ajujaht". ajujaht.ee. October 20, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Issie Lapowsky (April 22, 2015). "This Indoor Farm Can Bring Fresh Produce to Food Deserts". Wired. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Beren Dere (August 3, 2018). "Interview with Mattias Lepp, Founder and CEO of Click and Grow, about Indoor Farming Solutions". bontena.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Svetla Marinova; Jorma Larimo; Niina Nummela (November 6, 2016). "Click & Grow Moving Forward with High-Tech Plant Growing". Value Creation in International Business. 2. Springer International Publishing: 41–49. ISBN 9783319393698.
  5. ^ a b c Kalev Aasmae (December 7, 2018). "Smart soil, automated LED lights, this tech can grow anything from herbs to sequoias". Znet. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Silver Tambur (November 1, 2018). "Ikea invests in Estonian smart herb garden producer Click & Grow". estonianworld.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Mandy Behbehani (July 3, 2020). "Pandemic gardening moves indoors with a smart garden in the kitchen". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Ellise Pierce (March 25, 2020). "Quarantine garden boom: Local growers are delivering starter food farms to your door". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Matthew Kronsberg (February 17, 2021). "Is Growing Your Own Indoor Garden Worth It?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Virtually You". BBC Click. July 4, 2020. BBC News. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "In Fashion". BBC Click. August 8, 2020. BBC News. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  12. ^ a b John Biggs (November 19, 2016). "The Smart Garden 9 is a self-contained kitchen garden for your "herbs" and vegetables". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  13. ^ Katie Pilkington; Megan Wollerton (March 26, 2014). "Click & Grow Smart Flowerpot: Smart gardening for everyone (hands-on)". Cnet. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  14. ^ Julie Strietelmeier (February 10, 2013). "Click & Grow Smartpot flowerpot review". the-gadgeteer.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  15. ^ Biz Carson (August 19, 2015). "This startup is building a Keurig for fresh herbs". Business Insider. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Brian X. Chen (July 19, 2017). "Going Low-Tech to Solve Everyday High-Tech Problems". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Larry Olmsted (April 1, 2020). "Fresh Vegetables: Why I Just Bought An Indoor Garden". Forbes. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  18. ^ Adele Peters (June 19, 2015). "Grow A Full-Size Garden In Your Dark, Dingy Apartment With This Smart Farm". fastcompany.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  19. ^ M. Moon (September 28, 2016). "Raise veggies like an astronaut with these Wall Farms". Engadget. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
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